The countdown to the Nothing Phone (2) is officially underway, with a Nothing Twitter post promising a summer 2023 release, a more premium device than before and — most importantly if you live in the U.S. — U.S. availability.
Premium. Phone (2) is coming summer 2023. Sign-up for updates: https://t.co/FEJL4Jb2Aw pic.twitter.com/Nj8YONbYvmMay 3, 2023
The tweet contains a teaser of the design too, showing a red flashing light in among some curved and straight panels with different white-colored textures.
The Nothing Phone (1) has a red indicator on the back in the top right corner to show when the user was taking video, so perhaps the teaser is showing off a revised version of this feature. It'll be interesting to see how much of the Phone (1)'s distinctive Glyph Interface design remains on the Phone (2), or if Nothing will feel it has to change it up to signify a new generation has arrived.
More countries and more power
Nothing has confirmed in the past that the Phone (2) will come to the U.S., which is a change from the Phone (1)'s availability. It'll also use a Snapdragon 8 series chipset, an upgrade from the Phone (1)'s Snapdragon 778 Plus 5G silicon that likely points to Nothing using a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, or perhaps an upgraded 8 Plus Gen 2 variant if that chipset comes out later in the year. Either way, this should help the new Nothing phone compete more effectively with flagship devices like the Samsung Galaxy S23, OnePlus 11 or Google Pixel 7.
We do worry what being "premium" means for the new Nothing phone's price. The Nothing Phone (1) sold for around the same amount of money as a Google Pixel 6a or iPhone SE — those phones cost less than $500. In contrast, phones using Snapdragon 8 series chips tend to cost almost twice as much as a bare minimum. Coupled with other alleged upgrades such as more battery capacity and a higher default storage/RAM combination, it feels inevitable that Nothing will ask for more money in return.
As a young brand making a big deal about challenging the smartphone establishment, it's fun to see how Nothing attempts to set itself apart. No doubt we'll get further teasers from the company leading up to this summer launch window, as well as a full spec rundown at the launch itself. So keep an eye out for more news from the confusingly-named company and its new smartphone soon.
